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This suggestive Zesty cross stitch pattern is now available in my Etsy shop!Dark, Vast, and Zesty may sound somewhat like a double entendre, but it has a much more innocent origin. A family member got himself into an enormous financial mess that peaked when he had a life-threatening illness, and it took many of his friends and family to help dig him out of trouble (physically and financially). One person was entrusted to make an honest and extensive list of every debt and issue outstanding. When this person emailed the list to the others helping, he prefaced it by saying the list was “…dark, vast, and zesty,” which cracked me up!

Of course, “dark, vast, and zesty” could refer to a number of different situations, some more virtuous than others. I think it could add a fun air of mystery to greet your guests, with them thinking “just what the heck does that mean?” It remains a really funny line and a great reminder to find the humor in less than ideal circumstances whenever possible. [By the way, the family member is recovered and doing much better now.]

Variegated flosses are beautiful and by their very nature, they make every piece that uses them unique. No two people will ever use the exact same length of a floss in the same way, thus every project will have a different result! This makes creating with them an exercise in curiosity and a fun adventure. See the my series of Variegated Floss Projects to see a wide variety of projects that would look great in these color combinations!

Just look at these gorgeous combinations of color – and they’re even better looking in person. ThreadworX creates these brilliant flosses in their Southern California facility. As I live relatively close by, I’ve been lucky enough to meet the creative talent behind these combinations. These flosses truly are hand-dyed – I was greeted with a green handshake the day I visited.

The manufacturing process for DMC and Anchor variegated threads, I believe, limits the number of different colors on one skein to four. While those flosses are gorgeous in their own right, the hand-dyed process at ThreadworX allows for more than four colors on one skein. This is best evidenced by the true rainbow of floss number 1154 – Bradley’s Balloons.

When unraveled, these are 20-yard skeins composed of 20 pieces of one-yard long floss as you can see below. This is different than the 8.7 yard long skeins of DMC and Anchor that many of us are accustomed to. However, this is a similar top-quality six-strand floss that stitches up exactly the same as a DMC or Anchor floss.

Below is a sample of this floss stitched on 18-count Aida cloth in a variety of directions. The top three (diagonal, serpentine vertical, and spiral) used two strands, and the bottom (serpentine horizontal) used just one strand.

Here’s the same floss again stitched on 14-count Aida cloth. The left sample used one strand, and the right used two.

This floss has great quality, it was easy to handle, and it was really fun to see how the colors changed with every stitch.

At the moment, I’m just carrying the 24 flosses you see in the photo at top, however if these start to sell well, I can easily see my shop adding more colors very soon!

Here are a few of my favorites thus far:

Above is ThreadworX 1039 – Autumn Leaves. It’s a gorgeous mix of browns, gold, rust, and dark gray. I can only hope that this photos does it justice, as it is stunning!

1032 – Brown Sugar and Spice is a subtle mix of light browns – from white chocolate through milk chocolate and dark chocolate shades. It reminds me of seeing timeless geologic strata in bright desert light. Once again, I hope the photo does this floss justice as I really adore this one!

The last one I’ll highlight for now is this ThreadworX 1053 – Dreamscape. It is indeed a dreamy combination of purple, greens and light blue. Lovely!

Bill Hicks was a comedian who died in 1994 of pancreatic cancer. You might not expect such a metaphysical quote from a comedian… only if you’re not familiar with Bill Hicks’ work. He was controversial, biting, and certainly not for those with delicate ears. At the same time, he was often spiritual, philosophical, and personal.

This project is only a part of a longer quotation of Hicks. Although he stopped using drugs in 1988, he still espoused their use, saying ““I’ve had some killer times on drugs.” He railed against the war on drugs and on the media focusing only on negative stories about drugs. Hicks instead hop[ed] for a different perspective:

[As if giving a news cast] “Today, a young man on acid realized that all matter is merely energy condensed to a slow vibration—that we are all one consciousness experiencing itself subjectively. There is no such thing as death, life is only a dream, and we are the imaginations of ourselves. Here’s Tom with the weather.”

On a more superficial note, I filled the stars in border with seven different variegated flosses. The one I had really been wanting to try is Anchor 1345, called “Blue Hawaii,” and it didn’t disappoint. In fact, it’s gorgeous and you can see it in the star in the upper left corner of the pattern.

I stitched some of the stars filling in a serpentine way and some in a spiral way, and it was interesting to see how differently the colors pooled. For example, all three were the same color, Anchor 1345, but the star in the upper left corner was stitched serpentine in horizontal rows, while the fourth one below it and the first one from top right were stitched in a spiral.

If you’re interested in seeing some of his work, below is a clip from The Late Show with David Letterman. At the taping in 1993, Letterman and CBS decided that his material was too controversial and his performance was not aired. However, in 2009, Bill’s mother was a guest on Letterman and they aired his set in it’s entirety. [Warning: this is not for the easily offended]

These 24 flosses are outstanding additions to DMC’s already excellent line of variegated threads. These are all true multicolor combinations, where most of their predecessors have more subtle color combinations.

I felt like a kid on Christmas morning when opened the boxes containing these flosses – it was so fun! I’m sure my husband got tired of me repeatedly saying “oooh” and “wow” as if I were watching fireworks. But these combinations are just so different and striking that I couldn’t help myself.

Here are a few of my early favorites…

DMC 4501, called Fleurs des Champs (Wildflowers), is a springy blend of watermelon pink, green, and light teal. It reminds me most of the inner layers of a watermelon rind.

DMC 4502 is called Camellia and is a springy combination of bright pinks, green, and light blue.

DMC 4506, Primavera (Spring), is a gorgeous blend of green, blue, and yellow.

DMC 4507 is called Bougainvillea, and it’s a gorgeous group of teal greens, blue, and dark pink. It reminds me most of peacock feathers.

One curious note: I think DMC 4520, called “Christmas Story,” is identical to the older DMC 4042 “Very Merry.” I will have to compare them in more detail, but in the meantime I’m wondering why they repeated this combination.

These DMC Coloris variegated flosses are just lovely and I really look forward to stitching with them. I also think they will look great in any of the multitude of crafts that can be done with variegated floss (check out my six-part series on variegated floss projects!).

This variegated floss comparison Part 2 between DMC and Anchor will help explain the similarities and differences between the two brands. In Part 1, I covered Anchor’s 1200 series where each floss is variations of one color, e.g., fuchsia pink to light pink or from royal blue to light blue. In this Part 2, I’ll go through Anchor’s 1300 series, called their “Multicolors,” most of which really do live up to that name.

I’ll share a brief description and a photo of each Anchor floss with what I determined to be it’s closest DMC counterpart. I’ll also offer a rating between 0 – not different at all to 5 – very different, and also share which Anchor flosses have no DMC counterpart at all.

Anchor 1300 and DMC 4145 both include similar shades of brown, but the Anchor is lighter overall and includes a touch of straw yellow in the mix. Difference rating: 3.

[Clicking on the photos will take you to Flickr, where you can take a closer look!]

Anchor 1301 is the second “incomparable” (the first being the lilac purple 1209 from Part 1). This is a lovely mix of pastel pink, yellow, and blue – a bit like looking at mother-of-pearl.

Anchor 1302 is another “incomparable.” Anchor named this floss “Marble” for good reason – it is a great mix of white, pink, peach and a bit of grey – like a pretty piece of marble stone.

Anchor 1303 has two DMC counterparts, DMC 4075 and 4073. 4075 is much more gold than the creamy yellow tones in the Anchor, and 4073 gets darker than the Anchor as well. Difference rating: 3.

Anchor 1304 also has two DMC counterparts, DMC 4070 and 4080. They’re all gorgeous and they all look like daffodil fields to me, however 4080 is definitely lighter than the other two and it’s shades of green are much more subtle. 4070 has more green where the yellow in the Anchor is more prominent and tends toward orange at it’s extreme. Difference rating: 3.

Anchor 1305‘s closest counterpart is DMC 4126. The DMC includes some pink where the Anchor does not, and the Anchor has more yellow than the DMC. Difference rating: 2.

Anchor 1315 and DMC 4120 have orange in common, but that’s about it. The DMC is all in shades of orange and orange pink where the Anchor includes true pink and yellow. Difference rating: 4.

Anchor 1316 has two counterparts, DMC 4200 and 4205, and all are gorgeous fiery reds. Where 4205 is red and purple and 4200 has slightly lighter reds mixed with some pink and orange, the Anchor includes raspberry, red, orange, and gold. Difference rating: 3.

Anchor 1318‘s closest counterpart is DMC 4090. While they are both peachy, the DMC is definitely more yellow compared to the pink in the Anchor floss. Difference rating: 5

Anchor 1320 and DMC 4260 both include pink and purple. The DMC includes darker purple where the Anchor includes a hint of peach in it’s pinks. Difference rating: 4.

Anchor 1325 and DMC 4215 are both gorgeous combinations of blue, purple, and pink. While the blue is very similar, the pink in the DMC is much more subtle than the bright fuchsia in the Anchor. Difference rating: 3.

Anchor 1335 is the fourth of the eight “incomparables.” This variegated floss is a very fun combination of pink, purple, aqua blue, and lemon (almost fluorescent) yellow. I can’t wait to see this floss in a project!

Anchor 1342 and DMC 4020 share a similar light blue, but the Anchor is basically shades of that one blue only. The DMC includes other shades of blue and is more water-like than it’s sky-like counterpart. Difference rating: 4.

Anchor 1344‘s closest counterpart is DMC 4214. The DMC has much more pink and the blue at one extreme is much darker than the Anchor. The blue in the Anchor also is a bit closer to aqua. These are both really pretty flosses, but they definitely are different. Difference rating: 4.

Anchor 1345 and Anchor 1347 are in in a unique situation with DMC 4050 and DMC 4030. With it’s combination of bright green, aqua, and blue, 1345 looks like a great combination of 4050 and 4030. 1347, with it’s deep blue and light aqua extremes, just seems like the last step in this gorgeous four-floss progression. Difference rating for 1345: 3, for 1347: 4.

Anchor 1352 is our fifth “incomparable.” With it’s minty to celery green shades, it’s a very pretty combination of green.

Anchor 1353‘s closest counterpart is DMC 4065. However, the DMC is green with some grey and peach colors where the Anchor is slightly brighter greens and buttery yellows. Difference rating: 4.

Anchor 1355 is another “incomparable” – this time a lovely mix of dark blue and yellow-greens.

Anchor 1360 may be my favorite of all these “incomparable” Anchor flosses. It’s really what I would consider to be closest to a rainbow with it’s variegated raspberry, gold, green, blue, and purple.

Also very cool is Anchor 1375, the eighth and final “incomparable.” Anchor has named this floss “Harlequin” and it’s easy to see why with it’s variegated pink, gold, green, and blue.

Anchor 1385 has it’s closest counterpart in DMC 4128. The DMC is mostly shades of one color where the Anchor includes taupe, rust, peach, and dark gold. Difference rating: 4.

The last Multicolor is Anchor 1390, who’s closest counterpart is DMC 4140. These are two very different flosses as the DMC is warmer tones of brown with a hint of pink, whereas the Anchor is in cooler shades of chocolate, gold, taupe, and maybe a touch of purple in the mix. Difference rating: 5.

That wraps up this variegated floss comparison between Anchor and DMC. One thing to keep in mind is that DMC has 76 variegated flosses compared to Anchor’s 40, so all of the DMC flosses did not appear in this comparison. In fact, DMC has 43 variegated flosses that have no comparable match in the Anchor line.

Don’t forget, this Part 2 post covered just Anchor’s 1300 “Multicolor” series of variegated flosses. Please check out Part 1 that covered Anchor’s 1200 series of flosses as well!

A footnote on this post: In order to get the full effect of the differences and similarities of the flosses, you really need to see them for yourself in different types of lighting. I’ve tried my best to capture the subtleties of the color differences, but cameras can’t always do the same job as the human eye. Also, keep in mind that all of the various computer monitors and screens will display colors differently.

This variegated floss comparison between DMC and Anchor will help explain the similarities and differences between the two brands. I’ve carried all 76 colors of DMC variegated floss in my Etsy shop since mid-2013. They are absolutely gorgeous but most big brick-and-mortar craft shops don’t stock them.

I recently decided to add the 40 colors of Anchor variegated floss to my shop as these are even more difficult to find, either in person or online. I was a bit worried that there might be a lot of too-similar color combinations between the DMC and Anchor lines, but I’m happy to say that my concern was unnecessary. While there are a few overlaps, the vast majority of the Anchor flosses are quite different from DMC’s.

I’ll share a description and a photo of each Anchor floss with what I determined to be it’s closest DMC counterpart. I’ll also offer a rating between 0 – not different at all to 5 – very different, and also share which Anchor flosses have no DMC counterpart at all.

This first post will cover Anchor’s 1200 series flosses. Each of these flosses are variations of one color, e.g., fuchsia pink to light pink or from royal blue to light blue.

Anchor 1201 and DMC 4180 are very similar. The Anchor floss swings a tiny touch lighter and darker than it’s slightly more subtle DMC neighbor. I’d give these two a difference rating of 1.

Anchor 1202‘s nearest counterparts are DMC 4110 and 4190. Anchor calls this floss “Peach Glow,” but to my eye it appears more like a pretty pink grapefruit color. The Anchor floss is in shades of just the one pink, while the two DMC flosses have oranges and peaches in their mix. I’m going to give this floss a difference rating of 3.

Anchor 1203 and DMC 106 are quite different. As the DMC leans toward orange while the Anchor is in shades of cherry red, I’ll give this a difference rating of 4.

Anchor 1204 and DMC 107 are also pretty different. Although they both have similar shades of pink, the Anchor floss sways from red to a very pale pink while the DMC is all in shades of pink. Difference rating: 3.

Anchor 1206 and DMC 115 are virtually identical, with the brighter side of the Anchor floss being a fractionally lighter red than the DMC. Difference rating: 0.

Anchor 1207 and DMC 48 are also very similar. This time the color swings in the Anchor are a tiny bit less extreme than the DMC. Difference rating: 1

Anchor 1209 is the first of the “incomparables.” It is in gorgeous shades of lilac purple. DMC has lovely purples but not one quite like this.

Anchor 1210 and DMC 121 are nearly identical. Is it also a coincidence that their numbers are nearly the same as well? Difference rating: 0.

Anchor 1211‘s closest match is DMC 4237. While they share a similar medium blue, the DMC definitely includes darker shades of blue. Difference rating: 2.

Anchor 1212 and DMC 67 are quite similar, the main difference being that the Anchor floss is just a touch darker. However, DMC no longer manufactures 67, so 1212 is the way to go! Difference rating: 1.

Anchor 1213 and DMC 125 are very similar shades of green, but the Anchor floss has a little more green and the DMC has a little more white. Difference rating: 1.

Anchor 1215 and DMC 92 are totally different. In fact, I’d say that 1215 is closer to 1213 than the more forest green of DMC 92. Regardless, 1215 is definitely a different green than it’s more minty neighbor 1213. Difference rating: 5

Anchor 1216 and DMC 94 are very similar shades of green, but the color swings in the DMC tend a little more extreme to dark and light. Difference rating: 1.

Anchor 1218 and DMC 105 are somewhat similar. The Anchor is warmer in tone than the DMC’s chocolate brown. Difference rating: 2.

Anchor 1220 and DMC 51, while both shades of similar orange, are quite different. Anchor’s name for 1220 is “Butterscotch,” but I think “Orange Creamsicle” might be more appropriate. The Anchor is all in shades of one color, while the DMC has more depth of colors ranging from deep orange red to gold to light peach. Difference rating: 3.

That wraps up the 1200 series of Anchor variegated flosses – roughly the equivalent of the original 16 DMC variegated flosses that preceded the 60 newer Color Variations flosses.

In my next variegated floss comparison post I’ll move on to the 1300 series, Anchor’s “Multicolors,” which really do live up to that name. There are seven gorgeous multicolors that have no DMC equivalent – you’ll have to check them out. Here’s a peek!

A footnote on this post: In order to get the full effect of the differences and similarities of the flosses, you really need to see them for yourself in different types of lighting. I’ve tried my best to capture the subtleties of the color differences, but cameras can’t always do the same job as the human eye. Also, keep in mind that all of the various computer monitors and screens will display colors differently.

The quote for this pattern comes from the “Harumph” scene. When his secretary has an urgent telegram from Rock Ridge, the Governor replies: “Read it, read it… you wild bitch.”

I have always thought that this quote would be a great present to a friend who is a voracious reader with a good sense of humor. I can also see this going to women who appreciate writers such as Dorothy Parker, Anais Nin, Alice Munro… there’s just too many excellent woman writers to list here.

Here’s a clip of the scene. The “Read it…” quote comes at about 1:35 into this video:

I think it’s funny that while this quote is directed to a bubble-headed scantily-clad secretary, I have always thought of this project as for intelligent, independent-thinking literary women.

If you’re a new visitor to my blog and a Blazing Saddles fan, you might also want to see two of my previous projects (below). The first is a cross stitch of the list that Harvey Korman dictates; a list of the worst scum and scoundrels he wants Slim Pickens to round up to attack the town of Rock Ridge.

This Life Sucketh Not cross stitch pattern is now available in my Etsy shop!

This is a phrase I came up with a long time ago, and it’s a fun way I appreciate living the good life. There are those moments when everything is… just fine. There are times when I just stop for a second and am happy and grateful. Things like enjoying dinner with friends at the end of the work week, looking out over a beautiful view, appreciating the blissful quiet in the house, or even finishing up a big project – that’s when I think “Wow, life sucketh not!”

If you also have those little moments of appreciation, then this pattern is for you…

The example I stitched uses DMC variegated floss 4022 for the letters, although it could be stitched in a solid color and still look great. The border pattern is my tiny version of French pillow ticking, with little flowers in blue and red outlined with a golden yellow and rich red backstitched border. This project was a lot of fun to stitch!

Part 1 of the series covered variegated floss projects in the needlework areas of cross stitch, needlepoint, and embroidery. Part 2 had variegated floss in plastic canvas, quilting, felt, sewing, and pom-pom projects. Part 3 explored variegated floss projects in jewelry and scrapbooking. Part 4 looked at variegated projects in knitting, spinning and dyeing. Part 5 featured crochet, lace and tatting, and basketweaving, and this Part 6 will showcase all kinds of crafts in furniture, seasonal projects, string art, and home decor!

As I said in in Part 1, variegated flosses and yarns are beautiful and they make every piece that uses them unique. No two people will ever use the exact same length of a floss in the same way, thus every project will have a different result! This makes creating with them an exercise in curiosity and a fun adventure.

and CraftyNest has a tutorial to make your own. This example uses 20 lb. weight hemp string as a way to recreate a similar (and expensive) product from a retail shop. I imagine similar methods were used to create the student version above.

Then there’s this lampshade idea from NorthernCottage. They’ve spaced their string rather loosely around the drum, but you can see how easily the spacing could be tightened up to create a more opaque shade.

It turns out that artists have been wrapping thread on furniture for a while. An interesting example of that are these Spool Chairs by Keisuke Fujiwara as seen on DeZeen. These chairs feature 12 different colors of thread to achieve this variegated result.

Variegated Floss Projects in Seasonal Crafts

Similar to the light string made with yarn at the top of this post, this DIY by Janel at LifeasMom uses balloons. However, Janel uses variegated embroidery floss rather than yarn to create these slightly more refined Easter egg shapes.

Then leave it to Martha Stewart to create the DIY for these stunning Easter eggs using Styrofoam egg forms and perle cotton thread along with some millinery flowers, ribbons, and decorative trim.

and CarolynsHomework has simple instructions to make this yarn bowl. While these three projects look great in their solid color yarns, in the right circumstances, variegated yarns could really make these projects pop!

For decorating the home it would be more practical to wrap floss around brick-sized pieces of red and brown foam core or cardboard rather than full-on heavy bricks. Either way, the concept is just striking!

Variegated Floss Projects in String Art

There are a ton of string art projects out there, so I will only show you a few of my favorite tutorials, all of which could look great in variegated flosses. First is this “Heart in Ohio” DIY project on TheHarpsterHome. This particular example is for Ohio, but this could easily be modified for any other geographical mass in the world (Heart in Moldova, anyone?).

That luminescent art wraps up this Variegated Floss Projects Part 6! Are there any more examples in these crafty categories of furniture, seasonal crafts, decor, and string art that you would like to add to the comments?

Welcome to Variegated Floss Projects Part 5! In this six-part series I’m sharing a bunch of ways to use variegated floss in craft projects ranging from needlework and quilting to furniture, jewelry, and home decor.

Part 1 of the series covered variegated floss projects in the needlework areas of cross stitch, needlepoint, and embroidery. Part 2 had variegated floss in plastic canvas, quilting, felt, sewing, and pom-pom projects. Part 3 explored variegated floss projects in jewelry and scrapbooking. Part 4 looked at variegated projects in knitting, spinning and dyeing, and weaving, and this Part 5 will feature crochet, lace and tatting, and basketweaving!

As I said in in Part 1, variegated flosses and yarns are beautiful and they make every piece that uses them unique. No two people will ever use the exact same length of a floss in the same way, thus every project will have a different result! This makes creating with them an exercise in curiosity and a fun adventure.

There is more good information about what to do (and maybe more importantly what NOT to do) when working with variegated yarns in this post on About.com Crochet by Amy Solovay. This potholder is one of her examples of what NOT to do.

There are a million blanket and afghan patterns that look great using variegated yarns. One of the more unique examples I found is this fun and scrappy granny square afghan by Robin Meade at LifeInColor.

Just like afghans, there are a million ways to use variegated yarn in hats and scarves. This free pattern available on About.com looks like a great place to get started with variegated yarn in crochet,

While this basket pattern on ZoomYummy wasn’t crocheted in variegated yarns, I can only imagine how great it would look with some Noro yarns, perhaps?

Connie at MiscFinds4U reviewed this free conch shell pattern from Joann.com. Her experience with the project was that she used a variegated yarn that complimented the shape, but she couldn’t get the stitches quite right (use this link to see the pattern on Joann.com). I think her project turned out great nonetheless!

and I’m impressed with the variety of circular and mandala type projects that are available. This Pinterest board by Annoo Crochet is FULL of inspiration and patterns.

One of my most exciting finds for the this whole series is this most excellent “Light Carpet” as seen on dutchDZINE. It combines a flexible LED light string and a rope rug in such an ingenious way. Imagine this with some gorgeous variegated fibers in a rug, wall art, made into a basket – the possibilities are nearly endless!

Variegated Floss Projects in Lace and Tatting

Variegated thread and tatting compliment each other so naturally. This snowflake project

One other really interesting link I found is a detailed tutorial on how to make these really lovely needle lace skeleton leaves by Kris on HowDidYouMakeThis? The tutorial calls for normal DMC six strand floss, and in these solid colors they’re beautiful. I imagine they would also be beautiful crafted from some variegated colors,

Variegated Floss Projects in Basketweaving

Many basket weaving projects use solid color materials in order to achieve certain graphic patterns, but I was able to find a few examples of baskets that use variegated yarns. The first two come from the same source, the resourceful Adrianne at HappyHourProjects. This Woven Yarn basket tutorial has some solid instructions on how to make a coiled basket with simple supplies. In this example, you can see how the yarn colors pooled in interesting patterns.

Her Heart Shaped Yarn Basket is another great tutorial, and is a much quicker project than the one above. Once again, she gives the pattern and instructions to make this fun basket from very basic supplies. In this basket, you can see that the colors didn’t pool at all.

Finally, I spied this post of coiled baskets made by a talented group of 7th and 8th graders. I’m partial to this one – what a fun combination of colors!

That wraps up this Variegated Floss Projects Part 5! Are there any more examples in these crafty categories of crochet, lace and tatting, and basketweaving that you would like to add to the comments?